Former DeSoto County inmate files federal lawsuit

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) - A Former DeSoto County inmate has filed a $3.5 million federal lawsuit against his former jailers, alleging his civil rights were violated by a series of beatings he endured while in their custody last year.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribunereportsthat Jody Holland filed the suit Friday in U.S. District Court in Fort Myer. It accuses the sheriff and four former jailers of excessive force, deliberate indifference, battery and failure to intervene.

The deputy who originally arrested Holland last year is accused in the lawsuit of false arrest.

Sheriff's officials initially denied that any staff member used force on Holland, but the Sheriff's Office began an investigation after being contacted by the Herald-Tribune.

The FBI and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement also started investigations of the beatings.